LATAM, Etihad, American Adding New Long-Haul Destinations

LATAM Airlines Group, Etihad Airways and American Airlines are adding new long-haul destinations to their respective networks, which will each be served using Boeing 787-9s.

LIMA-LONDON HEATHROW

Nonstop flights between Peru and the UK are set to be restored after LATAM Airlines Group announced its intention to enter the market.

Commencing on Dec. 2, the airline will link Lima’s Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM) with London Heathrow (LHR). Service is scheduled to operate five times per week using 300-seat 787-9s.

With a flight duration of about 12 hr., the 6,307-mi. (5,481-nm) route will increase LATAM’s UK schedule to 12 weekly flights, adding to its existing daily operation between São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) and LHR.

LATAM secured 220 slots at LHR for the winter 2023-24 season service in June and will become the sole carrier to connect Peru and the UK once operations begin. British Airways previously offered nonstop flights, but the route has been unserved since the oneworld alliance member left the market in February 2022.

The new service will offer codeshare opportunities between LATAM and Virgin Atlantic, which unveiled a partnership in January 2022. This agreement initially covered LATAM’s LHR-GRU service, as well as onward connections to 12 domestic airports in Brazil, and has since been expanded to include destinations from Colombia and Peru to the US.

Additionally, LATAM will also be able to offer connections from its LIM hub to domestic cities and to points in neighboring countries that are unserved from the UK, such as Bolivia and Ecuador. Peruvian passengers traveling to London will also benefit from visa rules introduced last November allowing them to visit the UK for a period of up to six months.

Cargo is also likely to be a factor in LATAM’s decision to start Peru-UK service. The UK joined the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in July 2023, becoming one of 12 members, alongside Peru. It is expected the agreement will simplify import and export processes.

ABU DHABI-BOSTON

Etihad Airways has unveiled plans to add Boston to its list of destinations in the US, with flights set to begin at the start of the northern summer 2024 season. The move increases the carrier’s US network to four destinations, complementing service to Chicago O’Hare (ORD), New York John F. Kennedy (JFK), and Washington Dulles (IAD). Flights from Etihad’s Abu Dhabi (AUH) hub to Boston Logan (BOS) will operate four times per week, commencing on March 31, 2024, aboard 787-9s. Onward connection from BOS will also be available through codeshare partner JetBlue Airways.

Abu Dhabi will become Boston’s second destination in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to be served nonstop alongside Emirates Airlines’ daily service from Dubai International. Boston also has three other Middle East connections, with Delta Air Lines and El Al Israel Airlines each serving Tel Aviv three times per week, and Qatar Airways flying daily from Doha.

The addition of Boston to Etihad’s network restores its US route map to four gateways. Prior to the pandemic, the airline offered a 3X-weekly service to Los Angeles, as well as flying daily to ORD, JFK and IAD. However, operations to the Californian city are yet to return.

Looking at the flow of passengers on Emirates’ Boston service during 2022, point-to-point traffic from Dubai amounted to about 15,800 one-way passengers. The majority of travelers—about 53,700 of them—started their journey to Boston from destinations behind Dubai.

The top three destinations for behind traffic were Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai, suggesting Etihad may also be looking to tap into US demand from India. Boston has no nonstops to India at present, while Etihad has eight Indian routes from AUH.

PHILADELPHIA-NICE

American Airlines is introducing three new European markets during summer 2024 as part of a strategy to further rebuild its transatlantic network from Philadelphia and ensure better year-round utilization of its widebody fleet.

Flights will connect Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) with the French coastal city of Nice from May 6, followed by Naples from June 5 and Copenhagen from June 6. All three destinations are new cities for the oneworld alliance member, and each will be served daily using 787-8s to Naples and 787-9s to Nice and Copenhagen. The move comes after the airline confirmed the switch of its Doha route from New York JFK to PHL from the end of October.

American has adapted its widebody strategy in recent years to achieve better year-round utilization, using aircraft that typically operate long-haul South Pacific or South America routes during the winter months to be paired with seasonal transatlantic destinations during the summer.

Additionally, the airline has opted to launch the new European services from PHL rather than JFK because it can offer more domestic connections through the Pennsylvania city.

American will become the fourth carrier offering flights between the US and Nice based on the latest schedules for summer 2024. OAG Schedules Analyser shows that Delta plans to serve the French city daily from Atlanta and JFK, while United Airlines will fly daily from Newark (EWR). All-business-class operator La Compagnie also intends to serve NCE-EWR twice a week.

Given the existing nonstop services to the New York area, the city was the top O&D market in the US from Nice during 2022, accounting for 151,000 two-way passengers. Los Angeles ranked second on 41,700 passengers, followed by Miami in third on 30,500.